# 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

The 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1966, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship game on March 25, 1967, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The UCLA Bruins won their third NCAA national championship with a 79–64 victory over the Dayton Flyers.

## Season headlines

* The NCAA tournament expanded from 22 to 23 teams.
* UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its first of an eventual seven NCAA championships in a row, third overall, and third in four seasons. In the Athletic Association of Western Universities, it also won its first of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.

## Season outlook
### Pre-season polls

The Top 10 from the AP Poll and Top 20 from the Coaches Poll during the pre-season.
Associated Press :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | UCLA |
| 2 | UTEP |
| 3 | Kentucky |
| 4 | Duke |
| 5 | Louisville |
| 6 | New Mexico |
| 7 | Houston |
| 8 | Western Kentucky |
| 9 | North Carolina |
| 10 | Cincinnati |
UPI Coaches :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | UCLA |
| 2 | UTEP |
| 3 | Kentucky |
| 4 | Duke |
| 5 | Michigan State |
| 6 | Houston |
| 7 | Louisville |
| 8 | BYU |
| 9 | Western Kentucky |
| 10 | Providence |
| 11 | Nebraska |
| 12 | Boston College |
| 13 (tie) | Dayton |
| 13 (tie) | Kansas |
| 15 | North Carolina |
| 16 (tie) | Loyola-Chicago |
| 16 (tie) | New Mexico |
| 18 | Cincinnati |
| 19 | Colorado State |
| 20 | St. John's |

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Tulane Green Wave | Southeastern Conference | NCAA University Division independent |

## Regular season
### Conferences
#### Conference winners and tournaments

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Athletic Association of Western Universities | UCLA | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | North Carolina | Larry Miller, North Carolina | 1967 ACC men's basketball tournament | Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina) | North Carolina |
| Big Eight Conference | Kansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Sky Conference | Gonzaga & Montana State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Indiana & Michigan State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ivy League | Princeton | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan Collegiate Conference | Manhattan, St. Peter's, & St. Francis (NY) | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Toledo | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Middle Atlantic Conference | Temple | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Louisville | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Western Kentucky | Clem Haskins, Western Kentucky | 1967 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) | Tennessee Tech |
| Southeastern Conference | Tennessee | Ron Widby, Tennessee | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southern Conference | West Virginia | Johnny Moates, Richmond | 1967 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) | West Virginia |
| Southwest Conference | SMU | Denny Holman, SMU | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| West Coast Athletic Conference | Pacific | Keith Swagerty, Pacific | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western Athletic Conference | BYU & Wyoming | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1966–67 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1966–67 AAWU Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 UCLA14–0 1.00030–0  1.000 Washington State8–6 .57115–11  .577 Oregon State8–6 .57114–14  .500 Stanford7–7 .50015–11  .577 California6–8 .42917–10  .630 Washington6–8 .42913–12  .520 USC6–8 .42913–12  .520 Oregon1–13 .0719–17  .346 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 ACC men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 North Carolina †12–2 .85726–6  .813 Duke9–3 .75018–9  .667 South Carolina8–4 .66716–7  .696 Clemson9–5 .64317–8  .680 Wake Forest5–9 .3579–18  .333 Maryland5–9 .35711–14  .440 Virginia4–10 .2869–17  .346 NC State2–12 .1437–19  .269 † 1967 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 3 Kansas13–1 .92923–4  .852 Colorado10–4 .71417–8  .680 Nebraska10–4 .71416–9  .640 Kansas State9–5 .64317–8  .680 Iowa State6–8 .42913–12  .520 Oklahoma5–9 .3578–17  .320 Oklahoma State2–12 .1437–18  .280 Missouri1–13 .0713–22  .120 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1966–67 Big Sky men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Gonzaga7–3 .70021–6  .778 Montana State7–3 .70015–11  .577 Weber State5–5 .50018–7  .720 Idaho5–5 .50015–12  .556 Idaho State5–5 .50011–16  .407 Montana1–9 .1007–17  .292 | 1966–67 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Michigan State10–4 .71416–7  .696 Indiana10–4 .71418–8  .692 Iowa9–5 .64316–8  .667 Wisconsin8–6 .57115–9  .625 Purdue7–7 .50015–9  .625 Northwestern7–7 .50011–11  .500 Ohio State6–8 .42913–11  .542 Illinois6–8 .42912–12  .500 Minnesota5–9 .3579–15  .375 Michigan2–12 .1438–16  .333 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Ivy League men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Princeton13–1 .92925–3  .893 Cornell11–3 .78619–5  .792 Yale11–3 .78614–7  .667 Pennsylvania7–7 .50011–14  .440 Columbia6–8 .42911–14  .440 Harvard4–10 .28610–14  .417 Brown3–11 .21410–16  .385 Dartmouth1–13 .0717–17  .292 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1966–67 Metropolitan Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. Francis (NY)7–2 .77815–8  .652 Saint Peter's7–2 .77818–6  .750 Manhattan7–2 .77813–8  .619 NYU6–3 .66710–16  .385 LIU5–4 .55622–7  .759 Wagner4–5 .44419–9  .679 Iona4–5 .44411–10  .524 Seton Hall3–6 .3337–17  .292 Hofstra2–7 .22212–13  .480 Fairleigh Dickinson0–9 .0004–19  .174 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Toledo11–1 .91723–2  .920 Marshall10–2 .83320–8  .714 Miami (Ohio)7–5 .58314–10  .583 Bowling Green State5–7 .41711–13  .458 Western Michigan4–8 .33310–14  .417 Ohio4–8 .3338–15  .348 Kent State1–11 .0835–18  .217 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 MAC men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Temple†7–0 1.00020–8  .714 Saint Joseph's2–1 .66716–10  .615 Bucknell6–3 .66711–11  .500 Gettysburg6–5 .54512–10  .545 American3–3 .50016–8  .667 Delaware4–5 .44415–9  .625 Lehigh4–5 .44411–12  .478 La Salle2–3 .40014–12  .538 Lafayette1–10 .0914–21  .160 Rider*– –11–12  .478 West Chester (Pa.)*– –8–15  .348 † Regular-season championship winner * – Played as non-major program Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1966–67 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Louisville12–2 .85723–5  .821 Tulsa10–4 .71419–8  .704 Wichita State9–5 .64314–12  .538 Bradley6–8 .42917–9  .654 Cincinnati6–8 .42917–9  .654 Saint Louis5–9 .35713–13  .500 North Texas State4–10 .28612–13  .480 Drake4–10 .2869–16  .360 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 6 Western Kentucky13–1 .92923–3  .885 Morehead State8–6 .57116–8  .667 East Tennessee State8–6 .57117–9  .654 Murray State8–6 .57114–9  .609 Austin Peay State7–7 .50014–9  .609 Tennessee Tech†6–8 .42912–11  .522 Middle Tennessee4–10 .28610–15  .400 Eastern Kentucky2–12 .1435–18  .217 † Ohio Valley Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 Tennessee15–3 .83321–7  .750 Florida14–4 .77821–4  .840 Vanderbilt14–4 .77821–5  .808 Auburn12–6 .66717–8  .680 Mississippi State8–10 .44414–11  .560 Kentucky8–10 .44413–13  .500 Ole Miss7–11 .38913–12  .520 Alabama6–12 .33313–13  .500 Georgia5–13 .2789–17  .346 LSU1–17 .0563–23  .115 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1966–67 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT West Virginia †9–1 .90019–9  .679 Davidson8–4 .66715–12  .556 William & Mary8–5 .61514–11  .560 Richmond9–7 .56311–12  .478 The Citadel6–7 .4628–16  .333 George Washington5–7 .4176–18  .250 Furman4–6 .4009–15  .375 East Carolina4–8 .3337–17  .292 VMI4–12 .2505–16  .238 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT SMU12–2 .85720–6  .769 Baylor8–6 .57114–10  .583 Texas8–6 .57114–10  .583 TCU8–6 .57110–14  .417 Texas Tech7–7 .5009–15  .375 Texas A&M5–9 .3576–18  .250 Rice4–10 .2867–17  .292 Arkansas4–10 .2866–17  .261 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Pacific14–0 1.00024–4  .857 Loyola (Calif.)10–4 .71416–10  .615 Santa Clara8–6 .57113–13  .500 San Francisco7–7 .50013–12  .520 UC Santa Barbara6–8 .42910–16  .385 Pepperdine5–9 .3579–17  .346 San Jose State– –9–15  .375 Saint Mary's2–12 .1434–21  .160 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1966–67 WAC men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT BYU8–2 .80014–10  .583 Wyoming8–2 .80015–14  .517 New Mexico5–5 .50019–8  .704 Utah5–5 .50015–11  .577 Arizona3–7 .3008–17  .320 Arizona State1–9 .1005–21  .192 Rankings from AP Poll | 1966–67 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 9–1 .90017–7  .708 Rhode Island 8–2 .80014–12  .538 Massachusetts 7–3 .70011–14  .440 New Hampshire 4–6 .40010–12  .455 Maine 1–9 .1008–12  .400 Vermont 1–9 .1009–15  .375 |

### University Division independents

A total of 51 college teams played as University Division independents. Among them, Boston College (21–3) had the best winning percentage (.875) and Houston (27–4) finished with the most wins.
1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings :
* 1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 9 Boston College– –21–3
* .875
* No. 7 Houston– –27–4
* .871
* St. John's– –23–5
* .821
* Dayton– –25–6
* .806
* No. 10 Texas Western– –22–6
* .786
* St. Francis (PA)– –20–6
* .769
* Syracuse– –20–6
* .769
* Utah State– –20–6
* .769
* Rutgers– –22–7
* .759
* Providence– –21–7
* .750
* VPI– –20–7
* .741
* Marquette– –21–9
* .700
* Seattle– –18–8
* .692
* DePaul– –17–8
* .680
* Georgia Tech– –17–9
* .654
* Hardin–Simmons– –17–9
* .654
* Memphis State– –17–9
* .654
* Villanova– –17–9
* .654
* Holy Cross– –16–9
* .640
* Army– –13–8
* .619
* Oklahoma City– –16–10
* .615
* Loyola Chicago– –13–9
* .591
* St. Bonaventure– –13–9
* .591
* Canisius– –14–10
* .583
* Tulane– –14–10
* .583
* Miami (FL)– –15–11
* .577
* New Mexico State– –15–11
* .577
* Fairfield– –12–9
* .571
* Colorado State– –13–10
* .565
* Fordham– –14–11
* .560
* Georgetown– –12–11
* .522
* Notre Dame– –14–14
* .500
* Xavier– –13–13
* .500
* Loyola (LA)– –11–11
* .500
* Creighton– –12–13
* .480
* Niagara– –12–13
* .480
* Navy– –8–10
* .444
* Colgate– –10–13
* .435
* Florida State– –11–15
* .423
* Penn State– –10–14
* .417
* Detroit– –10–15
* .400
* Portland– –10–16
* .385
* Butler– –9–17
* .346
* Centenary– –9–17
* .346
* Jacksonville– –8–17
* .320
* Duquesne– –7–15
* .318
* Air Force– –6–18
* .250
* Pittsburgh– –6–19
* .240
* Boston University– –4–18
* .182
* West Texas State– –1–18
* .053
* Rankings from AP Poll

### Informal championships

| Conference | Regular season winner | Most Valuable Player |
| Philadelphia Big 5 | Villanova | Cliff Anderson, Saint Joseph's |
Villanova finished with a 4–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

### Statistical leaders
## Post-season tournaments
### NCAA tournament
#### Final Four

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National semifinals | National finals | National finals | National finals |
| E | North Carolina | 62 | | | |
| ME | Dayton | 76 | | | |
| ME | Dayton | 76 | ME | Dayton | 64 |
| | | | W | UCLA | 79 |
| MW | Houston | 58 | W | UCLA | 79 |
| W | UCLA | 73 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | E | North Carolina | 62 |
| | | | MW | Houston | 84 |

### National Invitation tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Southern Illinois | 79 | | |
| Rutgers | 70 | | |
| Rutgers | 70 | Southern Illinois | 71 |
| | | Marquette | 56 |
| Marshall | 78 | Marquette | 56 |
| Marquette | 83 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Rutgers | 93 |
| | | Marshall | 76 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Lew Alcindor | C | Sophomore | UCLA |
| Clem Haskins | G | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| Elvin Hayes | F/C | Junior | Houston |
| Bob Lloyd | G | Senior | Rutgers |
| Wes Unseld | C | Senior | Louisville |
| Bob Verga | G | Senior | Duke |
| Jimmy Walker | G | Senior | Providence |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Louie Dampier | G | Senior | Kentucky |
| Mel Daniels | C | Senior | New Mexico |
| Sonny Dove | F | Senior | St. John's |
| Don May | G/F | Junior | Dayton |
| Larry Miller | F | Junior | North Carolina |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
* Associated Press Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
* UPI Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA
* Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Lew Alcindor, UCLA
* Sporting News Player of the Year: Lew Alcindor, UCLA

### Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
* Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA
* NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
* UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
* Sporting News Coach of the Year: Jack Hartman, Southern Illinois

### Other major awards

* Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Cliff Anderson, St. Joseph's
* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Sonny Dove, St. John's

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach |
| Bowling Green | Warren Scholler | Bill Fitch |
| Dartmouth | Doggie Julian | Dave Gavitt |
| Lehigh | Pete Carril | Roy Heckman |
| Missouri | Bob Vanatta | Norm Stewart |
| Princeton | Butch van Breda Kolff | Pete Carril |
| West Texas A&M | Jimmy Viramontes | Dennis Walling |